The Best Japanese Food in Rio de Janeiro
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The best Japanese food in Rio de Janeiro, according to the experts: the Michelin Guide and The 50 have both weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. San Omakase comes out on top.
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Haru Sushi Bar and Spicy Fish hold the next two places. The Michelin Guide shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with The 50 next.
Read the Rio de Janeiro Edition All Rio de Janeiro departments
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Rank 1. San Omakase
Omakase Japanese
Eight seats at a counter inside a Leblon shopping center sounds like a trap, but this Michelin-starred omakase counter runs on a different logic entirely. The chef spent decades in Japan and founded a sushi school there, and he arrives at your seat with fresh fish, a steady knife, and apparently a lot of good stories. Newcomers to omakase get a quiet explanation of what's coming; everyone gets a glass of sake at the door.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: 1 Star
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Rank 2. Haru Sushi Bar
Sushi
A Japanese-philosophy-meets-Copacabana sushi bar where the chef sources fish directly from local fishermen rather than from anyone in a suit. The ground floor spills onto the pavement; upstairs, a counter faces an open kitchen and the mood shifts. You can order sushi and temaki à la carte or surrender to the omakase, with sake available by the glass throughout.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- The 50 The 50: The 50 Discovery
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Rank 2. Spicy Fish
Japanese-Korean
Four storeys of neutral tones, soft lighting, and enough plants to make you feel vaguely virtuous about dinner. This contemporary Asian restaurant in Ipanema blends Japanese and Korean cooking, and the chef's selection takes the guesswork out of a menu long enough to cause genuine indecision. The Kagoshima wagyu finished tableside on a hot stone tends to be the move everyone around you is also making.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 2. Sushi Leblon
Japanese
The bar counter running along the open kitchen is the seat everyone wants at this long-running Japanese restaurant in Leblon, one of Rio's most well-heeled neighborhoods. Dark wood sets the mood, the menu spans sushi and sashimi through to more inventive preparations, and the kitchen tracks new ideas without ditching the classics. Book ahead for dinner; lunch is a little more forgiving if you're the spontaneous type.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 2. Sushi Vaz
Sushi
A twelve-seat counter in Leblon where the day's fish, displayed behind the chef, decides the menu. This omakase spot skips salmon entirely in favor of locally caught fish and shellfish alongside imported tuna from multiple origins, which is the chef's calling card. The São Paulo locations came first, but the Leblon outpost fits the neighborhood. Book early; the room fills fast and there is no winging it on walk-ins.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant